1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to sights for archery bows and, more specifically, to bow sights having sight pin constructions that are angularly oriented.
2. Description of the Art
Archery bow sights utilizing a plurality of sight pins have been known in the art for many years. Typically, these sights use a bracket or other mounting structure for mounting the sight to a bow. The sight is commonly comprised of a pin plate, a pin guard, and a plurality of sight pins which are secured to the pin plate and extend into a sight window formed by the pin guard. The sight is mounted to a bow in a manner so that when the bow string is drawn, the archer can look through a peep sight provided in the bow string and align the tip of a pin attached to the sight with a target. For sights utilizing a plurality of horizontally extending sight pins having their tips vertically aligned, each individual sight pin is typically provided for aiming the bow at a target at a particular distance from the archer. For example, one pin may be positioned in the sight for aiming the bow at a target 50 yards from the archer while another pin may be positioned for a target that is at 70 yards distance.
One such example of a bow sight is sold by Vital Bow Gear of Pocatello, Id. The bow sight is comprised of a pin plate, a pin guard and a sight window formed therebetween. A plurality of horizontally oriented sight pins are secured to the pin plate by screws, which engage the sight pins and extend through a slot formed in the pin plate. The sight pins extend transversely from the pin plate into the sight window. The bow sight is attached to various mounting brackets for attachment to the riser of a bow.
In use, the archer typically aligns a peep sight positioned on or formed in the bowstring with one of the sight pins 20. In order to properly sight in the sight to the bow (i.e., properly adjust sight pin to a particular distance from the target), each of the sight pins 20 is individually positioned and adjusted to correspond to a given distance (e.g., 20 yards, 40 yards, 60 yards, etc.) from the bow 12. The sight pins 20 allow the archer to better position the aim of the arrow to compensate for target distance and trajectory. Thus, the archer estimates his or her distance from a specific target (e.g., 20 yards) and utilizes the particular sight pin for that distance.
Some bow sights provide a single sight pin, as for use in target practice where the distance from the target does not change or in a tree stand scenario where bate is left at a particular distance from the hunter. Such single pin bow sights are incorporated into a pendulum arrangement and are commonly referred to as pendulum sights. Such pendulum sights are often used in conjunction with tree stands and the like where the hunter is positioned above the target and is aiming in a severely downward direction at the ground to animals below the hunter. In such a situation, the distance to target, while not fixed, is usually within a small range thus suited for a single pin sight arrangement.
One of the concerns of multiple pin bow sights that use horizontally oriented sight pins is that each sight pin that extends into the sight window provides a visual obstruction of the target. Thus, prior art sight pins have been designed to be relatively thin when viewed in the direction of aiming so as to produce the smallest visual obstruction possible.
One way of reducing the visual obstruction to the user is disclosed in copending patent application serial number U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/989,935, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,884, herein incorporated by reference. In this patent, a single vertical sight pin includes multiple sight points. As such, a single vertical sight pin provides multiple sighting points while limiting visual obstruction to a single sight pin.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/991,243, herein incorporated by reference, a bow sight providing a single vertical sight pin is disclosed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,633 to Christopher A. Rager, a bow sight is provided with two or more vertically aligned vertical pins connected to the support structure. Each pin is provided with a different height, with the shortest pin positioned nearest the archer's eye so as to provide multiple visible sight tips when viewed by the archer when aiming the sight at a target. Each sight pin is vertically adjustable relative to the support structure so as to allow sighting of each sight pin for a particular distance-to-target. Because of the relative size of such sight pins, however, accurate adjustment of the height of such pins is difficult if not impossible.
The bow sight described in the above-referenced copending patent application hereto includes vertically aligned pins that are independently vertically adjustable. This bow sight is configured with each sight pin positioned in front or behind an adjacent pin. While reducing the obstruction of view by reducing the overall surface area of the pins that are visible to the archer, one of the drawbacks of this type of pin arrangement is that visually, the archer tends to focus on the entire length of the sight pin rather on the sigh point alone. That is, because the sight pins are vertically arranged, the body of the sight pin itself often becomes a distraction when aiming.
Thus, it would be desirable, to provide a bow sight that provides a multiple pin arrangement where the pins are neither uniformly vertically arranged nor uniformly horizontally arranged.